Business Email Etiquette Lesson 2

Be super clear and concise. Answer all questions in the email if you are replying to one. Make sure everything you say is swift, easy to read, and just makes sense.

I get hundreds of emails a day from different companies. Some are spam and some are from real people. It is rare that one of them makes sense. I think it’s rude if it makes no sense. It’s annoying and I won’t respond to it. I don’t need you to call me “Sir”, I hate it actually. I don’t need a zillion pleases and thank you’s. I just want what you write to make sense. I don’t want to have to read it twice. I want to read it once and totally know what you are talking about. I don’t want to have to email you back for more clarification. It makes you look like an idiot. It’s rude and it’s bad etiquette. It’s bad business. Read your email a few times to yourself and see if it makes sense before clicking send. Don’t worry about how polite it is, just be normal.

Hey Steve,

What’s the price of a monthly banner ad at the top of your homepage. I’m interested in buying one if the price is right. I couldn’t find that info on your website.

Cheers,

Dave

That example above is a normal level of politeness. It’s not how you’d write to the president but it looks normal. It’s not rude at all and it’s clear. It’s totally fine for modern day business.

If it’s your first email to a person, you might want to say who you are a bit more and say “Hi” instead of “Hey” but don’t go crazy on the politeness. It is creepy and looks spammy.